


Meet the Hales

by lavieboheme0919



Series: Three is Not a Crowd [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Anal Sex, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Awesome Talia Hale, Barebacking, Bath Houses, Blow Jobs, Break Up, Derek Has Feelings, Domestic Fluff, Emotionally Hurt Stiles Stilinski, Family Feels, Good Intentions, Hurt Chris Argent, Hurt Peter, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, It Follows references, M/M, Meet the Family, Mental Instability, Oral Sex, Past Domestic Violence, Polyamory, Psychologists & Psychiatrists, Suicide Attempt, Teeth references, Versatile Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-04 14:34:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10992918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavieboheme0919/pseuds/lavieboheme0919
Summary: After the events of "The Apple and the Tree," Peter agrees to bring Stiles to meet his family. It's his first trip back to his family home in years. And while the Hales are nothing if not gracious hosts, things fall apart when Stiles makes a bad decision.***If I left out any tags, PLEASE let me know and I'll gladly add them!***





	1. Meet the Hales

Stiles watched in awe as Chris' hands deftly kneaded the dough. He decided to make home-made pizza and was doing everything from scratch. The kitchen was a symphony of smells that made the younger man's stomach growl.

Peter entered the kitchen, still sweaty from his run. After fishing a bottle of water from the fridge he, too, watched as his husband worked the dough over the counter. "You washed the counter top before you started, right?" Peter asked. "Stiles and I had sex there yesterday."

Chris didn't look up from what he was doing. "Stiles, can you go stir the marinara a bit?" he asked. Stiles quickly moved over to the stove and began swirling the wooden spoon in the pot making a figure-8 pattern. "Peter, how long have you and I been married?"

"Twenty years," Peter replied, unsure where his husband was going with this line of questioning. It was an occupational hazard of being married to a lawyer with a reputation for being a shark in the courtroom.

"Then don't you think that after two decades of marital bliss, I'd have learned by now to assume that any surface in this house might have had you fucking on it within the past 24 hours?" Chris responded.

Stiles and Peter both laughed. Peter went around the kitchen island and kissed Chris before doing the same to Stiles.

"What you guys are putting together smells great!" he said. "I'm gonna shower and then I'll be in my office grading exams."

"We'll come get you when it's ready," Chris replied. He then looked up at Stiles. "Hey Hot Stuff, how's that sauce coming along?"

"Great!" Stiles exclaimed. Chris was the only one who ever used pet names on him. "I've never seen someone make their own marinara sauce before."

"It's a recipe I got from Peter's sister," Chris said. "It was her way of welcoming me into the family. When we go visit her next week, you'll see what a great cook she is! It's a shame that talent never spread to her brother."

"He can order takeout like a pro, though!" Stiles joked.

"Do you have any plans or ideas about how you want to spend your summer break before we go on our cruise?" Chris asked.

Stiles shrugged. "I was thinking about maybe getting a summer job…"

"You should focus on your studies instead of a job!" Chris said. "Peter and I are happy to pay for whatever you need."

"And I appreciate that, really I do," Stiles said. "But I'm not taking classes this summer and for once it'd be nice to celebrate your birthdays and Christmas without buying you gifts that you end up paying for anyway."

Chris sighed as he spread the dough out on the pan. "My law firm just got a big client. It's a huge case and there are a lot of moving parts... We could use a mind like yours to help us go over the case law that pertains to the situation."

"Okay but would I be doing work or would I be having sex with you?" Stiles asked. "Because last time Peter offered me a 'position' in his office, he failed to mention that position was doggy-style."

Chris laughed. He remembered that situation. It was the first argument Peter and Stiles had ever gotten into. "No, it'd be a real job. You'd be working about 20-30 hours a week… benefits… the whole 9 yards," Chris assured him. "Besides, my firm has a prestigious reputation. It'll look great on your resume and who knows? Maybe you'll decide to be a lawyer instead of a chemist…"

Stiles pondered what Chris said. "I _do_ like to argue…" After a pause he said, "Alright I'm in!"

"Good! I'll get the paperwork started on Monday. Although we have to have sex on the copy machine just once… I want to scratch that off my bucket list. Now can you help me spread the sauce on the dough?"

They worked together to top the pizza and after sliding it into the oven and setting the timer, they headed to the living room to watch TV until it was time to take it out. Both men lay across the couch as Chris flipped through channels. "How is it that we get basically every channel in existence and there's still nothing to watch?" Stiles complained. "Want to make out instead?"

They adjusted their position so that Stiles was on his back and Chris was on top of him, nibbling and kissing his jaw and neck. Stiles' eyes fluttered shut as his hands moved up under Chris' shirt. His fingers found his boyfriend's sensitive nipples and began massaging them in just the way he knew Chris liked.

Chris let out a lustful growl, letting his teeth graze Stiles' clavicle before moving back to Stiles' lips. They teased each other, biting and grabbing at each other with their mouths, but not letting them remain in contact for more than a heartbeat's time. Chris was between Stiles' legs and though they were fully clothed, they could feel one another's erections through their jeans and ground together in desperate longing. When Stiles bit Chris' ear lobe, the frenzy began.

Chris was an exquisite make out partner… especially when they both knew it would not end in sex. Stiles' guttural moan of "Fuck yeah, Daddy," sent Chris over the edge, forcing him to finally lock lips with the boy. Chris ran his tongue across the curve of his lover's lips. It was a gentle plea for entry, but Stiles refused it. His refusal only served to spur Chris into working harder get access. "Why are you so sexy?" he panted, finally stopping for air.

Both of them could feel their hearts racing. Chris had Stiles pinned down under him. He leaned up, letting his ass rub against Stiles' covered erection as he peeled off his shirt and casually threw it aside. Stiles had a serious body hair obsession and he hoped this would spur the younger man on. Stiles licked his lips as his eyes travelled down the hairy path to the jeans that were straining to contain the powerful cock. Lost in a moment of passion, Stiles' hands reached up and fumbled with the zipper, but Chris grabbed his wrists and then pinned them above Stiles' head. "You said nothing about sex," he warned.

"But you took your shirt off… that's not playing fair. You know what that does to me," Stiles whined, letting his hips buck up a bit to meet Chris'.

"And you were playing with my nipples, which wasn't fair either," Chris whispered back before once again attacking Stiles' mouth with his own. He fumbled with his lover's shirt, before finally managing to hike it up and then pull it off.

Stiles seized the opportunity to lean up and run his tongue around Chris' right nipple, causing the older man to grunt in pleasure. "If we don't stop, we'll end up fucking," Stiles panted.

"Damn you and your voice of reason," Chris chuckled, ultimately backing off. Instead, they just remained on the couch with Chris' powerful arms wrapped tightly around Stiles, who nestled his face into his boyfriend's chest.

"I love you, Chris," Stiles said softly.

"I love you, too," Chris replied, running his fingers through the boy's thick hair. "I never expected I'd love you as much as I do… but I'll be damned if you didn't captivate me just like Peter did." He waited a few moments before asking, "Did you ever talk to your dad about our adoption proposal?"

"No," Stiles said. "He had a hard enough time wrapping his mind around our relationship as it is now… I couldn't do that to him. Maybe I'll bring it up after he gets to know you guys and realize how amazing you are. I… it's just that for most of my life, it was just me and him. And admittedly, I wasn't the easiest kid to parent. I was hyper… I didn't always take my meds, and I wasn't the best in school."

"But you make good grades now," Chris commented.

"Because I'm challenged now. To be honest, I don't actually like chemistry. But it's difficult so I have something I can focus on," Stiles replied.

"Why spend all that money to get a degree in something you don't like?" Chris asked. "You're smart… you can do whatever it is you want to. I'm not saying this just because I'm a lawyer, but… you'd be a good one…"

"Maybe," Stiles replied. He absentmindedly traced around Chris' nipple with his finger, eliciting a moan. "Peter will miss us having long, nerdy conversations about chemistry."

"Give him a nice blowjob and he'll forgive you for anything! That's how I got out of trouble when I accidentally ruined his favorite tie," Chris joked. Stiles laughed, too. "In all seriousness, though, he'd want you to choose something you enjoy."

"You're right… We'll see how I like working in your office and maybe I'll change my major," Stiles replied.

Neither spoke for a few minutes after that. They just enjoyed the feeling of being in each other's presence. Stiles inhaled deeply, closing his eyes and taking in the scent of his lover. Whereas Peter's natural scent always made Stiles incredibly horny, Chris' soothed Stiles.

Peter entered the room and made a " _Tsk_ " noise. "So you're having a cuddle fest and completely forgot to invite me?"

Chris checked his watch. "We were just having some bonding time… besides, dinner is almost ready… we can keep cuddling when we're done eating."

"I don't wanna get up now," Stiles pouted. "I'm comfy."

"I'll go set the table, Peter can tap in for a few minutes, then we'll eat and watch a movie in the bed so we can all cuddle together," Chris suggested. "How's that sound?"

Peter and Chris swapped out and Stiles adjusted himself a little to remain comfy as Peter wrapped his arms around his young boyfriend. While no words were shared, the message was heard loud and clear by both of them. _I love you._

At Peter's request, Stiles had begun spending more nights in Chris' bed. Peter was growing increasingly worried that he was going to hurt Stiles. In his sleep, Peter would sometimes have sex with the person in his bed and not remember it. He tried taking medication for it, but it made him sick. He would usually try to have sex or masturbate several times each day to wear himself out sexually. The problem was that Peter Hale was _never_ worn out sexually. He barely had to wait between orgasms when he was having sex with Stiles and Chris.

Sleeping alone was the best option. It made him miss falling asleep and waking up with Stiles in his arms. He missed recapping his day to Stiles before bed. He missed the way Stiles always found a way to take up most of the bed, despite being smaller than Peter was. He missed the way Stiles looked first thing in the morning with his hair all wild and uncombed.

"I called Talia," Peter said finally.

"Who?" Stiles asked.

"She's my sister," Peter replied. "I called her to see if we could come visit so that you could meet her."

"And?"

"She said yes," Peter said with a smile. "She's excited to meet you. And if truth be told, I'm excited to see her again. I miss my family…" Stiles grinned. Peter noticed the grin and narrowed his eyes. "What's that smile for?"

"You're sentimental! Who knew?" Stiles teased.

"I am not!" Peter insisted indignantly.

"You have a heart and you actually care about people other than me and Chris…"

"I will not tolerate such lies and slander!" Peter shouted. "I will call my lawyer! Honey?"

Chris appeared in the room. "Yeah?"

"This young man is trying to impugn my character by implying that I am _nice_ ," Peter said, treating the last word as if it tasted foul.

"Libel if I've ever heard it!" Chris chuckled. "I'll file the lawsuit in the morning. Might be a bit of a conflict of interest though… I'm his lawyer too. And the table is set and dinner is ready."

Peter slapped Stiles' ass playfully. "We're being summoned!"

They ate dinner together, discussing their upcoming trip and the added itinerary in California to visit Peter's family. After dinner, they worked in an assembly line to clean the dishes and put them up. Peter did the washing, Stiles sat on the counter with a towel and dried them off, and Chris put them in their respective cabinets.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Stiles asked.

"Sure!" Chris said.

They headed back to the den and got comfy together on the couch. Chris and Peter were sitting upright and Stiles was lying across them with his head in Peter's lap and his legs resting on Chris'. Stiles had chosen _It Follows_ and Peter absentmindedly ran his fingers through his young lover's hair.

"She has a haunted pussy?" Chris asked. "This and _Teeth_ are why I only have sex with men."

"But she got it from a guy," Peter pointed out. "So it's not like men are immune to that. Besides… how do you know I don't have teeth up my butt?"

"Because I've fucked you enough times I think I'd know," Chris laughed.

"Maybe I just never wanted to bite you," Peter retorted. "Hey Stiles… maybe you should check to see if there's teeth."

"What would you do if you got that ghost STD?" Stiles asked.

"I'd just fly to another country across the world. When it finally got close to me, I'd go back to this side of the world," Peter said.

"You wouldn't try to give it to someone else?" Stiles asked. "I sure as hell would."

"But if it kills that person, it's back to you…" Chris pointed out. "Maybe an exorcism?"

"So you'd walk up to a priest and tell him you need him to exorcise your cock?" Peter said skeptically. "That'll go over well."

The three of them laughed and finished watching the movie. When it cut to black, Chris cried out in indignation. "It just ends like that?"

"Maybe there will be a sequel?" Stiles suggested.

"Looks like it came out in 2014, so not likely," Peter said. "Oh well… guess we'll never know if they died."

They got up and headed to bed. Stiles gave Chris a kiss goodnight. "I'm gonna sleep with Peter tonight, if that's alright…"

"Of course," Chris said. He gave both Stiles and Peter one more kiss before heading down the hall to his bedroom.

The brush of their lips together as they fell onto the bed was simultaneously familiar and strange. It seemed so long ago since they'd slept together. "Do you want to have sex before we go to sleep?" Stiles asked.

"I'm worried about you, Stiles," Peter replied, completely ignoring the question about sex. "If I hurt you in the middle of the night, do you understand how much it would kill me?"

"If it became too much, I'd try and wake you up. But Peter, I've known the risk since the first night I slept over here. I'm not trying to trivialize your fear, either, Peter… I get that there's a lot of baggage you carry about your ex," Stiles said. "But I love falling asleep next to you and waking up next to you. And if every once in a while, I get fucked by you while you're sleeping, it's a very small price to pay for the other things you give me."

Peter simply sighed and pulled him close.

* * *

Having slept through the plane ride, Stiles woke up feeling somewhat refreshed as they touched down in California.

Peter seemed tense as they headed to baggage pickup and then rented a car. It was the longest Stiles had ever seen him go without making any sexual innuendos of any sort. They were going to spend a week with his family before hopping on a cruise ship for two weeks.

Stiles sat in the back seat with the iPad, flipping through scanned documents for the case he was helping on, now that he worked at Chris' law firm. "So I'm confused about this case, Chris," Stiles said, breaking the silence.

"Discussing the case at all constitutes work and should be compensated as such," Chris replied. "You're on vacation so leave it alone."

"But… It's kind of important!"

"And it will be just as important in three weeks when we're back at work. Write yourself a memo… but then no more work!" Chris scolded.

Stiles pursed his lips but ultimately complied… for now. As soon as he had access to the Hales' Wi-Fi password, he was going to be doing some investigating.

The case, as Chris had promised, was a rather complicated one. It had taken Stiles his first week on the job to just get through the files that had been compiled already. That didn't even touch the evidence turned over by the prosecuting attorneys, which Stiles had hoped to be able to peruse during his vacation.

With a huff, Stiles turned off the iPad and stared out the window. "How much longer?"

"About an hour," Peter replied. "Please tell me you're not going to do the 'are we there yet' thing. Because I'll go ahead and let you know now: if the car is still moving, we haven't arrived at the destination."

Chris chuckled and Stiles simply huffed again. "Then I'm going to sleep."

"You slept on the plane!" Chris laughed.

"And I'll sleep in the car, too!" With that, he closed his eyes and drifted once more into slumber.

When they pulled into the driveway, Peter reached back and gently touched his young boyfriend's knee. "We're here," he said. Stiles woke with a start and looked around.

The house was more appropriately referred to as a mansion. "This is where your sister lives?" Stiles gasped.

"Yep… and I grew up here as a child," Peter said.

"Holy shit…"

"My sister is somewhat insufferable," Peter said.

"Like she's a bitch?" Stiles asked.

"Like she's one of the nicest people in the world and so it's insufferable to be around her," Peter clarified. "We're in for one hell of a week."

They climbed out of the car and grabbed their suitcases. Chris walked closely behind his husband while Stiles remained a few paces back. A statuesque woman with flowing brown hair and sharp angular features greeted them warmly at the door. "Peter!" she said excitedly. "Chris!" She gave both of them a hug and a kiss on the cheek as she ushered them into her home. Her eyes fell on Stiles and she raised her eyebrows inquisitively. "And you must be Stiles. It's lovely to finally meet you! Come in… I'm sure you're all tired and hungry from your travels. Cora and Derek are in the den, Laura will be back in just a moment with the final touches for dinner."

"You have a lovely home," Stiles said politely, eliciting a smile that exuded maternal warmth. It made his chest tighten and he fought back tears. It had been a long time since he'd had a smile like that fall upon him.

"You're so sweet," she said. She turned to address Chris "We have Peter's old room upstairs and a spare bedroom all made up for you. If you want to take a few minutes to relax, I'll let you know when the food is ready."

Peter locked eyes with Stiles and motioned with his head to follow him upstairs. Peter's childhood bedroom looked as though it hadn't been touched since he moved out. Sports trophies lined the shelves. The walls were adorned with posters of David Bowie, Madonna, and Aerosmith. In front of the window was a small writing desk adorned with a toy chemistry set. Stiles stared at it for a few moments.

"Talia got that for me on my 18th birthday," he said.

"You said you weren't close to your sister… but she seems so nice," Stiles said.

"And she is. I wasn't close to her because she was the one person in my life who treated me well and I was afraid that if I was honest with her about how I felt about guys… that I'd lose the one nice person I had in my life, and so I hated her for it. I acted out and got myself into all sorts of trouble. My parents, of course, grew to see me as the problem child and Talia as the golden one. Suddenly it became easy to resent her," Peter admitted as he sat down on the bed. "I got a scholarship at a school as far from here as I could go and suddenly the opportunity wasn't really there anymore. We didn't see each other except for when we were on breaks from school and I never once mentioned Chris. I always danced around pronouns and changed the subject." He laughed humorlessly. "I'm pretty sure she thought I was asexual for a while…"

"It's not too late to fix that," Stiles said softly. "It's clear she cares about you."

"She does," Peter replied, staring off into nowhere. "My parents refused to attend the wedding when I married Chris. I only invited them and Talia. Of course I got Talia's RSVP right away, but from my parents I received an envelope that contained a nasty letter informing me I was written out of the will along with the shredded up pieces of their invites."

"That's awful!" Stiles gasped.

"Talia was furious at them. She did her best to guilt them into it, but in the end, it didn't work. Me being the family fuckup, they could handle that," Peter said. "Me being the family faggot… that was just too much."

"Did she at least attend your wedding?"

"She's the one who walked me down the aisle," Peter said softly.

"And you're still not close to her?" Stiles asked. "Peter, you need to fix that."

"I don't know how," Peter admitted.

"Start by talking to her," Stiles said. "I was an only child… and I wish I would have had a brother or sister who I could share everything with… especially after…"

"After what?" Peter asked.

Stiles realized that he had never actually told his boyfriends about how his mom died. It wasn't something he wanted to bring up at this moment anyway, since he was working on Peter's problems. "It's not important right now. What _is_ important is that we've got a week here where you can make up for lost time."

Peter leaned over and kissed Stiles deeply. "You're wise beyond your years, my love," he said when it broke. "Come downstairs with me.

Stiles followed him as Peter gave a tour of the house. When they reached the den, Stiles saw the girl and guy from the photo he'd been shown. The difference was that both were several years older and Derek, in particular, was several years hunkier. The sculpted, angular face and striking good looks seemed to be a genetic trait tied to the Hale surname.

"Uncle Peter!" Cora exclaimed as she got up from the couch to greet him with a hug. Derek gave a polite wave.

"This is my niece Cora, my nephew Derek," Peter said. "And this is Stiles. He's my—"

Derek cut him off. "He's the student you've been fucking for the last two years. Yeah… I see Facebook."

"He's mine and Chris' boyfriend," Peter corrected. "I'm going to go see if your mom needs any help. Be nice."

"I will," Derek said.

"Oh I wasn't talking to you," he chuckled as he leaned down to give Peter a kiss on the forehead and then left, leaving Stiles alone with them.

Stiles stood there awkwardly. Derek stared at him, but Cora returned to her book.

"Are you going to sit down or what?" Derek asked. "You're kind of making me nervous."

"Oh!" Stiles said. "Uh… sure. I'll… I guess I'll sit down."

Derek turned to face the TV as Stiles sat awkwardly between the man and his sister. The silence between them grew more and more awkward until Derek finally broke it. "Okay, I've gotta ask… Is it daddy issues? A professor/student kink? Are you a gold digger?"

"Derek!" Cora scolded.

"What?" Derek replied. "He's your age, Cora… don't you think it's a little odd that he's dating and doing _both_ of our uncles?"

"Uncle Peter has never been normal and if they're happy, it's none of our business," Cora replied, not looking up from her book.

"It's maybe a little of the first two… but no. I'm not a gold digger," Stiles replied. "I really do love them both."

Derek pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows. "Okay."

"What?"

"Nothing. I just said 'Okay.'"

"I know what you said. I'm just not liking the whole judgmental tone you're taking," Stiles said.

"Judgmental?" Derek asked. "Or is it observant."

"It's judgmental," Cora answered for Stiles. "And you're being a dick."

Stiles cast a smug glance at Derek before getting up and heading to the kitchen. Chris and Peter were seated at a small island countertop. Peter noticed him first. "Don't offer to try and help because she'll swat your hand away," he said.

Talia was stirring a large pot. "You're guests! Mom would roll over in her grave if I let a guest cook dinner."

"Mom would roll over in her grave if she knew I brought my husband _and_ our twenty-year-old boyfriend into this house," Peter replied with little effort to hide the bitterness.

"Peter, it's not their house anymore," she said. "You and your family are always welcome here because they're also my family."

Stiles beamed inwardly at being referred to as part of the family.

"So tell me about yourself," Talia said.

"Well… my name is Stiles… I'm a chem major at the college where Peter teaches," he said.

They heard the door open and a voice call, "Mom! I got the wine you wanted!"

"We're in the kitchen, Laura," Talia called.

A few moments later, a woman that Stiles could only assume was Laura appeared with several bottles of wine. "Uncle Peter! Uncle Chris!" she exclaimed as she set them down then rushed to hug them.

"Hey!" As Peter greeted his niece, Stiles had never seen an expression of such genuine joy about someone other than Chris and himself.

Laura took a few minutes to observe Stiles. "And you must be the new boyfriend," she said. "Hmm… You seem more like Derek's type than Peter's."

Peter chuckled. "I thought that at first when I met him, but no… he's definitely my type."

Stiles stood there awkwardly, unsure how to participate in this conversation that was happening more about him than with him. He could feel his cheeks and ears reddening.

For Stiles, dinner was equally awkward. Everyone else had stories they could reminisce about. Stiles simply sat there and ate quietly.

"Hey are you alright?" Chris pulled Stiles aside after the meal was finished.

"Yeah, I just didn't have much to say," Stiles replied.

"I know it's probably weird because we have this history with them that you don't… but we hope that you'll start to make memories that you can reminisce about on future trips," Chris said. "You're as much a part of our family as they are."

Stiles smiled and leaned against Chris. "Thank you. It's just that Derek thinks I'm a gold digger with daddy issues."

"He might be right about the daddy issues part but… definitely not about the gold digger part. If you want, I can have Peter or Talia talk to him tomorrow," he offered.

"Thanks," Stiles said. They kissed goodnight and Stiles went down the hall toward Peter's room. Derek was sitting in the hallway with a smug look.

"Follow me," he said as he led Stiles outside. The Hale property was surrounded by a vast lawn with perfectly manicured shrubbery and gardens. Beyond that was a dense wood that the Hales still owned most of. Their property, according to Peter, pushed up against a nature preserve, but it was nearly impossible to know where the boundary truly sat. Peter's great-great-great grandparents had purchased whole swaths of the land incredibly cheaply and sold off small parcels of it at a much higher rate as property values grew. It was one of the reasons the Hales had so much money.

"If you're bringing me out here to kill me, I've got to warn you, I'm a yeller. And I don't look it, but I'm actually kind of scrappy," Stiles said.

"Shut up," Derek said. Though it was dark, Stiles somehow knew he had rolled his eyes.

"I'm not afraid of you, you know," Stiles said.

"Yes you are," replied Derek matter-of-factly. "But you don't need to be." He finally stopped walking once he had led Stiles to a gazebo that was a great distance from the house itself.

"Yeah… because you've treated me so kindly and not menacingly at all."

"Again, shut up," Derek said. "I brought you out here to apologize to you. I overheard your conversation with Uncle Chris and it occurred to me that I should have given you the benefit of the doubt."

Choosing to ignore the fact that Derek had as much as admitted to eavesdropping on a private conversation between himself and Chris, Stiles nonetheless accepted the apology. "I really do love them."

"But why not someone closer to your own age?" Derek asked. "Are you only attracted to guys who are old enough to have fathered you?"

"No… and I'm not just attracted to guys. I'm attracted to girls too. But Peter was…" Stiles paused. He realized he was about to share incredibly personal information with someone whom he barely knew.

"He was your first, wasn't he?" Derek said, finishing the thought. Stiles didn't respond, but he didn't need to. His hesitation was all the answer that Derek needed. "And I guess that Chris was your second?" Again, Stiles said simultaneously nothing and also everything that Derek needed to know. "Thought so."

"Why does it matter?"

"Oh it doesn't… not really. Except for the fact that you're in the prime part of your life. Not to mention, you're actually really sexy and should be slutting it up in college… not entering into some bizarre three-way marriage thing with quite literally the first guy to drop a load in you," Derek said.

Stiles was suddenly glad for the darkness. He didn't want handsome, perfect, asshole Derek to see him blushing at the compliment or the casual reference to the fact that Stiles always had bareback sex with Peter and Chris. "Our relationship is open. I'm allowed to have sex with other people. And I have!"

Derek chuckled. "A sex club with Chris watching doesn't count."

Stiles sputtered. "How… why… I can't…" He was normally so well-spoken that the fact that Derek was turning him into a bumbling idiot just infuriated him all the more.

"Don't tell my mom, but Uncle Chris brought me to my first bath house," Derek said. "It's kind of his thing. And it was fun… exciting… the anonymity of it all. But my point is that if that's your only experience having sex with someone other than them, then it doesn't count because in the end, Chris was still there watching and curating who you got to have sex with."

"Why is my sex life so important to you?" Stiles said finally. "Who I choose to have sex with—"

"Who my uncles choose for you to have sex with," Derek interrupted. "But go on…"

"It's my business, Derek. And it's absolutely none of yours," Stiles said, turning around to storm off, but Derek's hand grabbed his arm.

His grip was firm. "Neither of them are watching now…" he said.

"So?" Stiles snapped. Before he knew it, he felt Derek's mouth on his. Soft, wet, tender. The way Derek kissed was so incredibly different to how Peter and Chris kissed him. Without even meaning to, Stiles allowed for Derek to deepen it and invite was quickly taken. Derek tasted different, but good. There wasn't the desperate passion or dominance that was usually present in the kisses Stiles received from Peter and Chris. But there was something else there… something that twisted in Stiles' gut and caused his heart to race as he felt Derek's hand slide into his pants, his fingertips caressing the erection the kiss had caused.

Finally, Stiles wrenched himself away, taking a moment to catch his breath. "No!" he exclaimed. "You're their nephew. This is weird."

"It is, but it's also exciting and you can't deny that you enjoyed it," Derek said. He pulled Stiles close, making sure the boy could feel how much he enjoyed it too.

Stiles placed his hands on Derek's chest with the intent to push him away. It just made it easier to feel the man's muscles. "Derek, they want to adopt me so that there's a legal link between me and them. If I accept, I will legally be your cousin."

Derek sighed loudly and backed away. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have kissed you like that… I shouldn't have said anything."

"It's alright," Stiles said. "I'm just… I'm gonna go back inside."

He walked briskly back to the house and upstairs to Peter's room. Peter was lying on the bed in his boxers. Stiles' mind was racing. He needed something to get the idea of him and Derek out of his head. He felt a need to prove to himself what he already knew. He peeled off his clothes and climbed onto the bed. It was smaller than the one back home, but still big enough for the two of them. Peter continued reading as Stiles fished his cock out of his boxers and wrapped his mouth around it.

He put more effort into this blowjob than he ever had before. Peter put his book away and ran his fingers through the boy's hair, guiding him further down on his engorged member. Before Peter came, Stiles stopped and climbed onto him, slowly impaling himself on his boyfriend. He began riding up and down. Peter, in turn, met him by thrusting upward. "Not that I'm complaining, but what's gotten into you?"

"You," Stiles answered. "I want you to fuck me as hard as you can."

"No need to ask me twice," Peter replied with a devilish grin. It was his favorite reply when Stiles asked for sex. He eased himself inside and slowly worked up to the pace Stiles wanted, encouraged by his grunts of "harder… faster…" When he came the first time, Stiles sucked in his breath and asked for Peter to go again. Needing no time to recover, he did.

This cycle continued five times until both men were covered in sweat. Stiles was beyond sore, but he needed to feel the sensation of getting fucked senseless. Peter came again, collapsing on top of Stiles, who was seemingly folded in half, with his legs up as far as they would go and Peter still buried in him. "Even I need a break sometimes," Peter panted. "I can't help but notice that you haven't come once… and I've really been trying to make that happen."

"Sometimes us fucking isn't for me. Sometimes it's just for you," Stiles said, skating around the truth.

"Yeah, but I _like_ when you come. I like licking it off you and kissing you with it still in my mouth," Peter said. "And I can't help but think that there's something on your mind and that this wasn't about sex at all." He paused for a few minutes, not pulling out. "And if truth be told, I'm sort of feeling used. What I just did could have been accomplished with a big dildo." Peter never missed an opportunity to talk about how large he was. But it wasn't like he didn't have something to brag about.

Stiles averted his eyes. It was just a kiss… and Derek's fingertips had grazed his penis. It wasn't like they had sex, yet it seemed sinful. Worse, Stiles felt sinful. He felt like he had betrayed his relationship with Peter. "Something happened," Stiles said softly.

"Like what?"

"Derek…" Stiles began. "He… uh… he took me outside to the gazebo to apologize for how he treated me earlier."

"Okay, well he _should_ apologize. He was being an ass. I was going to talk to him myself," Peter said.

"That's not all. During the conversation, he kissed me… and I kissed him back…" Tears welled in his eyes as he recounted it. He felt like a vile person. "And then he… he reached into my pants and touched me, but I stopped him after that because I love you and… I'm so sorry."

Peter's face was unreadable. He remained perfectly still. "So you came in here and thought you could absolve yourself by using sex as charity. You didn't come, but I did. So obviously I'd have to forgive you? Is that it?"

"Peter, no… I…"

"You what, Stiles?" Peter demanded bitterly. "Why don't I fuck you one more time so it can really cement itself in your memory, then you can go fuck him and compare which of the Hales you'd rather be with. Hell… why not go room to room and be the official Hale family bicycle?" For emphasis, Peter pulled out and drove back in.

"Peter… that hurt," Stiles whimpered, meaning more the comment than the action, which, admittedly, hurt quite a bit too.

"I asked one thing of you before I brought you to meet my family… I asked that you not fall for them," Peter said.

"I thought you were kidding the way you always do. I love you, Peter… I didn't mean to hurt you," Stiles said, now crying.

Peter pulled out of him and climbed off the bed, looking around. "I need to shower… I need to wash you off of me. When I'm done, I'm going to take a walk. When I get back, you should probably not be in here."

He grabbed a change of clothes and stormed out of the room, not shutting the door behind him, leaving Stiles naked and alone on the bed. Stiles sniffled as he searched for his underwear and shirt. Derek appeared in the doorway.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Do I look okay?" Stiles retorted, too upset to care that he was still naked. "This is your fault, you know… you shouldn't have kissed me." He slowly pulled on his boxers and shirt. "Where the fuck am I supposed to sleep?"

"You can sleep in my room," Derek offered. "You can take the bed. I'll try to make it work in my window nook."

Stiles shook his head. "You said Chris took you to a bath house… is there one nearby?" Derek nodded. "Can you take me?"

Derek furrowed his brow, but ultimately agreed. They pulled on clothes and got in Derek's car. True to the opulent nature of the Hale family, it was a sleek, black, brand new Camaro. On their way to the bath house, Stiles had Derek stop at a CVS. He ran in and purchased a jumbo pack of condoms. "How many are in that box?" Derek asked as they pulled back onto the road.

"Thirty-six," Stiles replied.

"Jesus Christ!" Derek exclaimed. "Why so many?"

"Because I'm going to go into the bath house and I'm not gonna leave until the box is empty."

"That's like the least healthy way I've ever heard of someone handling relationship issues," Derek said.

"Well that's how I plan on doing it," Stiles said.

When they pulled into the parking lot, Derek did his best to plead with Stiles. "Seriously… go back and talk to Peter… don't do this…"

"Your position on this matter has been noted and ignored. You can come in, if you want, or you can leave. But I'm going to go in there and get my brains fucked out because I'm a shitty person and my boyfriend already thinks I'm a whore. Might as well make it true," Stiles said. Before Derek could have the chance to talk him out of it, Stiles took his box of condoms and headed inside.

It was different than the one Chris had brought him to, but in layout only. Stiles found a room that wasn't being used already and stripped down. He then headed toward the sauna room, naked, and announced that he had a box of condoms he wanted to get through. The men needed no more prodding than that. A group of them followed him back.

The room in this bath house had a bed. The cleanliness of the sheets was highly suspect and questionable, but Stiles didn't care. He put the box of condoms beside him and turned over onto his stomach. He didn't want to be able to see all of the men.

The first guy tore open the wrapper and rolled the condom on in one seemingly smooth motion. There was no fanfare or exchange as he got into position and pressed in. "You've been put to use today, sexy boy," he whispered as he took the fact that Stiles had, indeed, been fucked already as permission to go as hard as he wanted. Stiles grunted with each thrust, but ultimately let the man continue unimpeded.

Sex with a condom was different for Stiles in just one major way… he was used to the feeling of the hot spray of semen inside him as a signal that his partner had finished. Instead, he would just get a feverish buildup and then one final hard thrust before the man pulled out and was replaced. Roughly halfway through the box, Stiles noticed Derek in the room watching with a simultaneously disapproving but protective glare.

Stiles was sore. He had been sore from Peter and that hadn't come even close to this. But he was intent on proving himself to be the whore that Peter must have thought him to be.

When the last condom had been filled and then thrown away, Stiles turned over onto his back, desperately trying to hide how much pain he was in. Derek shut the door and locked it. "Are you done now?" Derek demanded. "It's almost sun-up."

"One last thing," Stiles said. "I want you to."

"I just watched you get fucked by 36 different men. That's not going to happen," Derek said.

"Your uncle thinks we have anyway," Stiles said despondently. "Besides… I can see you tenting your Levis."

"What was all of this really about, Stiles?" Derek asked.

"He's never been that mad at me before… he's never said those kinds of things to me. What if he's right?" Stiles asked, sitting up on the bed. His face finally betrayed his agony.

"Do you want an honest answer or do you want a nice answer?" Derek asked. "I can't do both so I need you to pick."

"Honest," Stiles replied as he began dressing himself. He braced for the truth.

"You're young and stupid," Derek replied. "My uncle is older, but he's kind of fucked up by the things that have happened to him. I don't understand whatever it is you have with them… but one thing is perfectly clear… and that's how much you all love each other."

"Not anymore," Stiles mumbled.

"And you believe that because of how young and stupid you are. When you love someone… like truly love them, you're still going to have moments where you're mad at them or upset for one reason or another. But at the end of the day, your love helps you get over it. And that's just in a regular couple. What you guys have is so much more complicated than that," Derek said.

"And yeah… you let 36 different guys go bananas on you because, and I really can't stress this enough, you're young and so very, very stupid," Derek continued. "But were there feelings involved?"

"No."

"Alright then. It was just mechanical, meaningless sex and you honestly didn't look like you enjoyed even one second of it," Derek said. "You're hot, Stiles. In this weird, nerdy, annoying, want-to-punch-you-in-the-face kind of way. I'm hot in the more conventional, chiseled, probably-should-be-a-model kind of way. When I have sex, no matter who it's with, I make sure both parties are enjoying the hell out of it. You deserve to have sex with someone—or some people, not here to judge, just stating facts as they are—who recognizes that you're hot and you deserve _good_ sex. What you did here was gross. And it's not because of the number of men… it's because of how much you hated all of it. What you did to Peter… that was fucked up too."

"I'm a bad person," Stiles said, wallowing in the self-pity.

"No, you're a decent person who did a bad thing," Derek said. "When decent people do bad things, they own up to it, they apologize, and they work to make it right. For instance, I recognize that I'm not blameless. I shouldn't have kissed you… I certainly shouldn't have reached in your pants like that, and I shouldn't have brought you here. But I did all of those things and I'm sorry."

"I appreciate the apology," Stiles mumbled.

"But you should not have gone straight up to Peter's room and used sex to try and gain the upper hand. That's happened to him before and that's really not cool."

Stiles realized that Derek was right. All this time, Peter had been fretting over whether or not he was acting like Duke, his abusive ex, yet it was Stiles who did it instead. "I've got to talk to him…" Stiles said. "Can you bring me back?"

"Yeah," Derek said. They rode back to the Hale mansion in silence. Derek had said all he needed to say back at the bath house. Everything Stiles needed to say had to wait until he was with Peter. Both men were exceedingly tired. The sun was rising over the horizon as they pulled into the parking spot. Derek killed the engine and looked at Stiles. "Be a decent person," he said.

Stiles smiled and opened the car door. As he climbed out of the car, he saw that Peter was on the front step. It was clear he hadn't slept either. His eyes darted between his nephew and his boyfriend accusingly. Derek caught the look and gave a pre-emptive, "Nothing happened, I swear. He asked me to take him for a drive and so I did. Now I'm going to go upstairs and get at least a little sleep."

The silence left between Stiles and Peter was agony. They had never been in the same space without knowing what to say or how to say it. When it became unbearable, both men blurted out "I'm sorry."

"What I did was awful. You have every right to hate me for it and if you can forgive me, I promise that it will _never_ happen again," Stiles said.

Peter's face remained unreadable. "The thing is, you did the _exact_ thing I would have done in your shoes. My moral compass does not always point due North. Chris is the one who keeps me in check most of the time. I've spent the whole night thinking about it and… all I can think about is the fact that I corrupted you to be just as calculating as I am," he said. Stiles could tell he was doing everything he could not to show any emotion. "Maybe your dad's assessment of our arrangement was accurate. A young, struggling boy and two older lascivious men… We took advantage of you."

"Peter no… you didn't," Stiles tried to interject, but Peter cut him off.

"I cared so little about your wellbeing and safety that I've never used a condom with you… neither has Chris. You're young. You should be having fun, experimenting with different people and substances… not getting passed around by two rich perverts," Peter said. "Your education is still important to me so we will continue to pay for your apartment, utilities, and whatever. I'm sure Chris will even keep you on his staff. But as of now, I'm your professor and you're my student. And that's all we are."

It felt like the air had been sucked from his lungs. He thought he had hallucinated what Peter said. _That's all we are_. It was as if the last two years of their lives were suddenly some old junk that could be easily thrown away. "Peter, I didn't mean to do it. I swear," Tears ran down his face. "I love you, Peter… I love Chris. It was a mistake and I'm sorry."

"I know you are," Peter replied softly. He wanted so much to take the words back, to hug the boy and console him and tell him that all was forgiven, but he knew that wasn't what was in his best interests. I've already called a cab and they should be here any minute. I've arranged for your flight back home to New York. All of your belongings will be delivered to your apartment, but feel free to use the credit card to buy food if you need it."

"Please don't do this, Peter," Stiles begged. "Please give me another chance."

"That's what I'm doing," Peter said as he took the luggage that Stiles hadn't even noticed and placed it at the boy's feet. "I want the best for you, Stiles. I really do."


	2. Aftermath of Meeting the Hales

"I know you're mad at me," Peter said softly.

"I'm not mad, I'm furious!" Chris exclaimed. "I get that you thought you were doing what was best for him but… you weren't the only one impacted by this decision. Did you stop to think that maybe _I_ didn't want to break up with him?"

"Chris, he's free to be with who he wants now," Peter said glumly as he sat at Talia's dining room table.

"He wanted to be with us!" Chris snapped.

Peter was exhausted. He was physically exhausted from having not slept. He was emotionally exhausted from having done one of the most difficult things he'd ever done in his life. He was mentally exhausted from all the time he spent trying to figure out how to break the news to Chris and everyone else. He made it a point to speak to his nephew about it privately.

"I don't blame you," he told Derek flatly. "Your mom told me you're heading to New York soon, so if you want to hook up with him, it's fine."

Talia had simply hugged him and, in true Talia Hale fashion, tried to soothe him. It was Chris' reaction he had been most fearful of. As it was playing out, Peter realized that fear was well-warranted.

"Chris, I'm tired. I just want to go to sleep."

"How you could sleep after what you've done is beyond me," Chris said sharply, but ultimately dropped the discussion for now. He could see how much it was wearing on Peter.

They skipped the cruise altogether and flew back to New York the next day. Chris was giving Peter the silent treatment, which only served to further the feelings of isolation he already felt. The house seemed vacant without Stiles. Peter dropped his luggage on the floor and trudged upstairs and collapsed on his bed. He grabbed Stiles' pillow and held it close. It smelled like him. He had to wonder if doing the right thing was supposed to be so painful. It felt like there was a hole in his chest that only Stiles could fill. A part of him was missing that he now would never be able to get back.

His entire life, Peter knew that there was something within him that was missing. In his youth, he tried to fill it with drugs. In college, his relationship with Duke had only served to carve away more of him. Even while he was in that relationship, he attempted to fill it with casual sexual encounters with other guys. Only Chris had done anything toward repairing that part of him. Chris made it okay to be human and flawed. And while Chris had begun the process of repairing him, it had been Stiles who finished it. With the two of them at his side, Peter was the best possible version of himself.

It took days before Chris truly accepted the fact that Stiles was no longer a part of their life. He had hoped that Stiles would still come to work and he could at least speak to him. Stiles hadn't answered his phone calls or his door. While Chris was at work, Peter had packed all of Stiles things and hired someone to deliver them. He came home to find Peter sobbing into Stiles' pillow. It was the only thing left in the apartment that bore evidence that Stiles had even been in their lives.

He had given up on trying to convince Peter to change his mind. He had loved Peter long enough to know that once he made up his mind, not even God could change it.

Eventually, Peter stopped crying. Instead, he was just numb. That unsettled Chris the most. He tried everything he could to bring some joy back to his husband's life, but without Stiles, there could be none for either of them.

Chris spent more time at the bath house. Partly in hopes of seeing Stiles, but also to feel _something_. He and Peter had sex, but it didn't feel the same without Stiles there as part of it.

For Stiles, the breakup was agony. He had never been through this before and it felt like losing his mom all over again. His panic attacks and nightmares had returned. He started seeing a psychiatrist and a therapist. Stiles popped his morning pill as he readied himself for the first day of the new semester. He had been told it was too late for him to change his course schedule.

He filled with dread at the idea of seeing Peter. He didn't know that he could handle it. The classroom was small enough that there was no way he could hide. Yet as the first day's lecture commenced, Peter seemed as if nothing was wrong. He made his usual jokes and spoke about chemistry with the same passion he'd always used. His eyes seemed to sweep over Stiles as if indifferent to his presence. When the class was dismissed, Stiles hung back, waiting until it was just them in the classroom.

"Mr. Stilinski, don't you have another class starting soon?" Peter asked.

"Peter please… Two years. Two years of our lives and you're acting like it was nothing," Stiles said. He had a paperclip in his left hand that he had bent out of shape. He was squeezing it tightly, trying to focus on the pain as it jammed into his skin instead of the pain of this conversation.

"Professor Hale," Peter corrected.

It felt like a slap in the face. No. It felt worse than that. The sting of a slap would fade eventually. This sort of pain left far deeper wounds. "I can't do this," he said, hating himself for how he was choking up. "Twice I've had to go on a 72-hour watch because I tried to kill myself."

Peter looked up from his papers, stricken. In a low, hushed voice, he said, "Stiles, this isn't easy for me either. Eventually you'll realize that this was for the best. But please… _please_ don't do anything to hurt yourself. I'm not worth your life."

"You and Chris _were_ my life and you took all of that away from me and didn't give me a chance to at least say my peace," Stiles said.

Peter sighed. "You look like you haven't eaten in weeks. Let me buy you some food. We can sit down and you can call me every vile name in the book if will help you get closure and move on with your life."

It was lunch time when the class got out, so they walked to the campus grill and Stiles ordered a burger, fries, and a soda. Peter swiped his credit card. They found a table as far away from anyone else as they could. "How was this for the best?" Stiles asked, not looking at Peter.

"As I said before, your life—your happiness—it means more to me and Chris than you can possibly know," Peter began. "But we weren't good for you… we weren't healthy for you."

"You're an asshole," Stiles said finally. "I _was_ happy with you. I was the happiest I had ever been with you. You keep saying that this is for my happiness, well, fuck you! I've been miserable. So when does my happiness begin? Since you have all the answers about where my life should go and who should be in it, please point me in the direction of whoever is going to make me happy because I thought it'd be you."

"We're miserable without you, too," Peter said. "I didn't do this lightly."

"I recognize that I did a terrible, awful thing to you, Peter. But you tossed me out the second it happened. You were so afraid that you would hurt me like Duke hurt you… But guess what? You hurt me just as bad," Stiles said. He was struggling to keep his voice low so as not to be heard by eavesdroppers. "Part of me wishes you had treated me the way he treated you… because then I could hate you. I want to hate you so much… and I can't. I'm going to go talk to my advisor. I'm changing my major and I'm dropping your class. I never want to see your face again. And the next time you find a guy in a sauna who wants to have sex with you, don't let him fall in love with you after. Give him a twenty and send him on his way because at least then, he'll know up front that he was your whore and that there's no chance of getting his heart broken."

Stiles got up and left his uneaten food on the tray. Peter didn't call after Stiles. He wanted more than anything to tell Stiles he was sorry for the pain he caused and he would do anything to make it better. But he remained silent and let Stiles walk away once more.

As soon as he was outside, Stiles broke down. He hated that Peter had this effect on him, but was helpless to do anything about it at the moment. He wiped the tears away with the sleeve of his shirt as he walked through the labyrinth of buildings to get to his advisor's office.

"Stiles?" he heard a voice calling his name. He looked up. For a moment, his heart fluttered that it might be Peter coming after him, but it wasn't. "Stiles is that you?" the voice said again. He spun around to see Derek approaching him. "Oh my God! I can't believe you go here!" he said with a smile, which quickly faded when he saw the state the boy was in. "What's wrong?"

Once again, Stiles broke down. Derek wrapped his arms around him and Stiles clung tightly to him, thankful for the little bit of comfort he provided.

* * *

There wasn't a straight line between them running into each other and when they realized they were each other's boyfriend. Neither man could pinpoint a single moment that had decidedly changed things for them.

At first, Stiles wondered if he moved to Derek so readily _because_ he was Peter's nephew. If truth be told, Derek suspected the same, but said nothing. In the beginning, their relationship was mostly just Derek stopping by Stiles' apartment to make sure that he was alive. He made it a point to try and get Stiles to laugh at something each day. Little by little he saw the color returning to Stiles' world. He had been gaunt and pale when they first reconnected. Now that Stiles was eating more regularly, he had filled back out and looked healthy.

Derek, as it turned out, had the legendary Hale libido. Their first time having sex was awkward. Stiles was coming off the anti-depressants and had to deal with the awful side-effects it had. In bed, Derek was a lot like his uncle. He was hung, skilled, and loved to bite and growl and be rough. But Derek differed in that he was versatile and would bottom just as often as he topped. It was a marvel to Stiles how they could swap places and Derek would go instantly from dominant and powerful to submissive and vulnerable.

There was one topic, however, that was forbidden in their relationship. Stiles made it explicitly clear that he wanted no updates on Derek's uncles. He didn't want to hear their names. He didn't want photos of them in the apartment. It was far too hard for him still.

Derek, for his part, respected Stiles' wishes. After a while, however, it seemed as though he was living two lives: the one he spent with Stiles, and the one he spent visiting his uncles, now that they lived in such close proximity. As he and Stiles approached their first anniversary, it became painfully obvious to Derek that he would never be enough to heal the wound they left.

"He's still not over you," Derek announced during one of his visits. "I honestly don't think he ever will be."

"But he seems happy with you, doesn't he?" Chris asked.

"That's just it… he _seems_ happy. But then I'll suggest we watch a movie or do some activity and his eyes get sad and I know it's because he previously watched that movie or did that activity with you guys," Derek said.

"He just needs more time," Peter said.

"No… he doesn't. He needs you. I understand why you did what you did, Uncle Peter… and I have tried my best for more than a year to keep my opinion to myself… but now I can't," Derek sighed. "I love him. I love him _so_ much but deep down, I know he doesn't love me the same way. Everyone involved in this is miserable."

"You are far better for him than I am," Peter said firmly.

"You're being a moron," Derek argued. "I'm only better for him on paper. I don't have to tell you guys that he's such an amazing person… I can't watch him be sad anymore. You've got to face the fact that you can't live without him and he can't live without you."

"Derek, what about you?" Chris asked.

"I would love to still be a part of his life," Derek said. "If it makes him happy to be with you guys, I can simply be his friend. And if there happens to be the occasional benefit here and there, well… you know what they say about gift horses."

"There's still one problem with all of this," Peter pointed out. "Who's to say he'll even agree to talk to us?"

Derek shrugged. "We'll meet somewhere neutral and let the decision be up to him."

**Author's Note:**

> Okay... I'm so sorry for all of that emotion. It just sort of happened. Please tell me what you thought of the installment. I love reading your comments and will try to respond to as many as I can.


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